I need any good ideas on how to help this cow. We have an appointment to take her to the butcher tomorrow but meanwhile, she keeps pushing her uterus and rectum out. Husband has pushed it back in repeatedly. This has been an ongoing problem, hence the butcher appointment. However, until yesterday, once it was pushed back, it stayed until the next heat cycle.

-- RBare (rbare@gvc.net), February 24, 2002

Answers

We have a cow that begins to prolapse when she is near term (this is her last year too) Cut out all of her hay. It is the roughage that usually causes the problem. With our cow we have cut her down to only a couple flakes a day and a big bucket of corn (which flushes her). She is due any time and as soon as we can wean the baby, she is going to sale. Dh doesn't think it would be worthwhile to butcher her since she is 5 y/o.

-- beckie (none@this.time), February 24, 2002.

Ditto with the hay! This happened to us and the vet's advice was to cut her back on the hay. Good Luck!

-- Carla (herbs@computer-concepts.com), February 24, 2002.

Feeding her the hay doesn't seem to be much the problem. Today she is not getting any more food and only water. She will be dead and gone before 24 hrs pass. Howeverm still wondering if anyone has ideas on how to keep the uterus in place for another 20 hrs. Husband gave up and we are just hoping she doesn't rupture an artery and die before her time.

-- RBare (rbare@gvc.net), February 24, 2002.

Wash it thoroughly and carefully. Put it back in. Suture the lips of the vulva closed. Wish you could get her to the butcher today. Possibility of infection is high.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), February 24, 2002.

Rose is right on. Clean it up well(the prolapsed uterus) and gently put it back in. It does take suturing to keep it there most of the time. This is no job for the fainthearted, it is hard work. I guess you must cull her but we have had this happen with Herefords and once the above steps were taken, with a VET, and AB's afterward, the cow was fine and delivered normally after that. Didn't seem to be a problem with her daughters, but then we did not follow that line more than 3 generations and I realize you sure don't want to propagate this tendency. A bummer, I feel bad for you. LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 24, 2002.

Thanks! I am a seamstress, so I can sew..LOL and I am not fainthearted. I found exactly what I need to sew her up. I watched the vet do this on another cow right after delivery a couple weeks ago so I know how to do it...just getting the cow to be happy about it.. :)

This particular cow lost a calf a year ago. The vet came out and fixed her up. He thought we would probaly still be able to breed this cow but a year later she aborted again and the past few heat cycles has shown this.

We sure hate to lose this one, but there is no good alternatives. Now to see if husband is ready to push it all back in again this afternoon.

-- RBare (rbare@gvc.net), February 24, 2002.

If you have a large whiskey bottle or a two litre pop bottle. Wash it thoroughly and fill it with warm water. Cap bottle. Replace cleaned uterus in cow. Slip in full bottle. A lot of the time the extra weight will hold the bottle and the uterus in. If necessary stitch her shut through the vulva leaving the heavy bottle in. If you can get the vet to give her a shot of lidocain in the spine just above the tailhead(he knows the spot), this may slow the contractions to allow her to stay together overnight.

-- Sandra Nelson (Magin@starband.net), February 24, 2002.

A cow that aborts more than once needs to be checked for Brucellosis.

-- Rose in Texas (open_rose@hotmail.com), February 24, 2002.

Seams like for such a short term, 'repair' duct tape would fit the bill. Strap it across like a band aid, several strips wide. for those who are willing to stich your own, get some leather sewing needles, or special suture needles they have a triangle shape to the tip that will not tear through as easy as a round needle will.

-- Thumper/inOKC (slrldr@yahoo.com), February 24, 2002.

pouring large quantities of sugar will make the uterus shrink making it easyer to push back in once its in staple her shut with pig rings they will hold better than stiches and easyer on you and the cow to put in.an older cow makes good beef myrtle was 14 years old and i thought she would have been tough so made very few steaks or roast ,she was marbled real good had been feeding her dried distillers grains because her teeth were gone

-- george darby (windwillow@fuse.net), February 24, 2002.

An epidural with local anaethestic will stop her pushing it out (maybe suturing too - and she won't feel that with the epidural!). There are a few other options of what to use in an epidural if you want longer term numbing! Are you talking a full uterine prolapse or just a vaginal one. Her cervix has to be open (as in straight after calving) for her whole uterus to come out. Post calving uterine prolapse - strongly suspect low calcium (milkfever) If it is just a reoccurring vaginal prolapse I would get a vet to do a repro check on her - there may be a simple explanation and treatment.

-- Cowvet (cowvet_nz@hotmail.com), February 25, 2002.

Don't give her a lot of medications if you are going to eat her. We had a cow do this years ago and we didn't find her for several HOT days. Gangrene is an ugly thing...

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 25, 2002.